European Cruise Pictures


The Rotterdam, the Flagship of Holland America Cruises
Images from a 14-day European Cruise Aboard Holland America's ROTTERDAM, beginning in Rotterdam, Netherlands and ending in Greece with ports-of-call in LeHavre, Lisbon, Cadiz, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Rome, Malta, Kusadasi, Turkey and finally, Athens.



Left-Click on any of the smaller pictures to see the full size version.


We spent two days in Paris before taking the train to Rotterdam to begin our cruise.  Our hotel was less than two hundred yards from the Eiffel Tower.






It's only when you are under the Eiffel Tower that you realize just how huge it is.


There's lots of river boat traffic on the Seine.  The river boat cruise is a very popular way to see the important sights in Paris.  An all-day ticket allows you to hop on and hop off the boats.  They stop at all the important places and they run every 10 minutes.




These are the spires of Notre Dame Cathedral as seen from a river boat. Other stops along the Seine include the Louvre, The Museum d'Orsay, Trocadero, The Assemblee Nationale, Place de Concorde and the Tuileries.



The many bridges over the Seine are landmarks and each distinguished by its name and it's particular history.





The Louvre Museum surrounds this huge plaza.






The first port on our cruise was Le Havre.
Just a few miles from Le Havre is the picturesque fishing village of Honfleur.









We arrived in Lisbon at dawn passing under the bridge, Pont Vasco da Gama, which crosses the Tegus River.  Completed in 1998, it is the longest suspension bridge in Europe.






This larger than life statue commemorates the first flight across the Atlantic to South America by the Portuguese aviators Coutinho and Cabral in 1922.



The Church of St. Rock, AIgreja de São Roque, is an impressive 16th century structure.It has two grand organs, one on each side of the chancel.




The fortress, Castelo São Jorge, occupies the high ground overlooking Lisbon.




An exterior and an interior picture of the Royal Palace at Queluz.


Click for more Lisbon Pictures





While in Cadiz, we chose to attend the Andalusian horse show at the Royal Equestrian School in the city of Jerez de Frontera about 20 miles inland from Cadiz.





The show was an impressive performance, even from our cheap seats (17 euros). They have an enforced "no photography" policy.





The most famous iconic symbol of Barcelona is the church, Sagrada Familia.  It has been under construction since 1882 and is optimistically expected to be completed in 2026.  It was designed by Antoni Gaudi who died in 1926.



When completed the Sagrada Familia will have 18 spindle-shaped towers, twelve representing the Apostles, four for the Evangelists, one for the Virgin Mary and the tallest tower will represent Jesus Christ. The design elements are complex and rich in religious symbolism.




FORTOGDEN'S
TRIP REPORTS,
PHOTO ESSAYS
and
TRAVEL PAGES

 The ROTTERDAM
South America
and
Antarctica Cruise


Pictures of
SOUTH AMERICA / ANTARCTICA
in slide format


The ROTTERDAM
Panama Canal Cruise

The NOORDAM
Mediterranean Cruise

The RYNDAM
Mexican Riviera
Cruise

The M/V NOORDAM
Caribbean Cruise

PUERTO VALLARTA Pictures

The
SCHOONER LEGACY
cruising the
ABC Islands

M/V AMAZING GRACE
Sailing From
Trinidad to Tahiti


Dave's
YANKEE CLIPPER
Trip Report + Pictures

The
AMAZING GRACE
in the Caribbean
A Trip Report

The
S/V FLYING CLOUD
Sailing The British Virgin Islands

Sailing on The
S/V POLYNESIA
In the ABC Islands


With
S/V POLYNESIA
sailing the
Leeward Islands


A Caribbean
Singles Cruise
on the Schooner YANKEE CLIPPER


From Antigua to Grenada aboard
the Windjammer
S/V MANDALAY


The
Caribbean Sailing Pictures- 4 Pages


HMS SURPRISE
The Maritime Museum
of San Diego


The SICILY Pictures

The MALTA Pictures

The TUNISA Pictures

The ROME Pictures

The LISBON Pictures

The PANAMA CANAL Pictures


The Pictures from
TAHITI, BORA BORA
and MOOREA


HILL AFB
Historic Military
Aircraft Pictures


JAMMERLINKS
A Resource Page
For Windjammer
Sailing Fans


The
LAS VEGAS Pictures


The HEBER CREEPER


The GOLDEN SPIKE
Historic Site


FORTOGDEN
SITEMAP






OTHER
FORTOGDEN
WEB PAGES


NAUTICAL TERMS
Used in
COMMON EXPRESSIONS


THE MYSTERY of
THE MARY CELESTE


The BATTLE of
THE SAINTES


TRASHY SIGNS,
SLOGANS & OFFICE MOTTOS


YOU MIGHT BE
a REDNECK If...



The DANCING
BABIES' DISCO



FORTOGDEN
SITEMAP








Another famous site in Barcelona is Las Rambles.Boulevard.  It's a colorful and lively promenade that runs through the central city.





The French village of Eze.

Immediately after we arrived in Monaco, we arranged a tour with a local driver who took us high up to the medieval French village of Eze which is perched on the top of a rocky peak and has a fantastic view of the Mediterranean.

The grave of Princess Grace of Monaco

Princess Grace is interred in the Monaco Cathedral on the bluff which overlooks the the city of Monte Carlo.


Monaco's Monte Carlo Casino and the Hotel du Paris
The Place du Casino is a tourist magnet in Monte Carlo.  Besides the casino, the Hotel du Paris and the Cafe du Paris are located here.  If you own an automobile valued in excess of $100,000 you may park it in this area.





In Rome on a Saturday morning, there are lines over two
hours long waiting to enter Saint Peter's.



The Trevi Fountain. During tourist season a visitor has to fight his way through the crowd to toss his "return-to-Rome" coins in the fountain.





The fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps is another tourist magnet.



This is the Palatine as seen from just outside the Colosseum. To the left is the Arch of Constantine.

Click for more Rome Pictures



The island of Malta and its capital city of Valletta are among the more interesting places in the Mediterranean. The Knights of St. John, which had its beginnings during the holy land crusades, were given the Island by the King of Spain in 1530. In 1565, the Ottomans and Turks laid siege to Malta.700 knights and 8,000 soldiers defeated the Turkish invasion force of 40,000.



The Armoury Museum in Valletta houses an impressive collection of 15th and 16th century armor and weaponry.



The Palace of the Grand Master with its inlaid marble floors is now a museum and legislative office building,



Perhaps one of the most interesting and beautiful cathedrals
of Europe is St. John's Co-Cathedral. Knights are buried under
the floor and each is marked by an elaborate marble cover.
Get there early. The tourist crowds are huge.



Click for more Malta Pictures



When we arrived in Kusadasi, Turkey on the next to the last day of our Cruise we traveled immediately to Ephesus, the Aegean's best preserved ancient city.  Ephesus was founded by the Greeks about 300 BC.  It became a Roman regional capital in the 1st century, and at its height, was home to nearly half a million people.  Today less than half of the city has been excavated.




Inscriptions on the ruins are bilingual with both Greek and Latin




This is the Library of Celsus. It was the third largest library in ancient world.

Local actors perform here for the tourists.




The Theatre of Ephesus was capable of holding 25,000 spectators.  The acoustics here are said to be phenomenal.  A spoken word from the stage can be heard clearly at the top row of the theater.




Athens, Greece was the final stop for our cruise.  Since being
accepted as a member of the European Union, Athens is fast
becoming a leading business center in Europe.

The Parthenon atop the Acropolis.




The "Porch of the Caryatids", also on the Acropolis.



The Doric Temple of Hephaistos which stands on a hill in the Agora was started in 449 BC. It is the best preserved temple in Athens.



The changing of the guard at the Parlement Building.

One of thousands of restaurants in Athens.




These three images are from the Greek National Archaelogical Museum in Athens.

Click here for many more pictures from the National Archeological Museum

Click Here for the FortOgden Travelogue Review of this Cruise








If you are thinking about your first cruise or planning your next
one, check out FortOgden's page, Cruise Tips and Suggestions.
FortOgden.com has no financial or administrative connection to any cruise line or travel agency.




Google


                       
This page was last updated on © 2006~2007 - FortOgden Design, Huntington Beach, CA
!--==============================================-->